One more farewell...

Farewell... as per wikipedia - "is a wish of happiness or welfare at parting, especially a permanent departure"..

Well, thats just only a part meaning.. ! There is the other big part of sadness because the permanent departure means you will not see the person(s) as often as you could now.. (I am optimistic of meeting all my friends at some point in life.. inspite of the farewell. .So, I'd like to think I'll see them less often.. !!) So, you are sad you cannot do all the things you did together while you were in closer proximity.. I thought I was done with farewells when I left college.. ! But how naive I was to think so.. ! I am not done making friends after college...so how can there be no farewells ? There will be the bitter-sweet emotions associated with it always.. as long as I keep making friends.. hmm... ! Even though I kind of know it theoritically, somehow everytime I have to say goodbye to someone... I have to go through the same thought process.. .from square 1.

Today, I'll be bidding a farewell.. to another dear friend..! We laughed, danced..fought..played.. watched movies.. shared feelings..and even baked a cake together :)) I would miss having her around..And hope the best for her always.. ! Like with all my other friends that I had to say farewell to.. I hope to see her sometime again in future... ! And ...in spite of the physical distance that keeps us apart.. she will always be near and dear to my heart.. !

Movagagh Bashi Azizam ! (Goodbye Dear Friend ! In persian.. my friend 's native language)

Old friends.. New Intros..

Today, I was going through an email account I hardly use and found a message from an old friend. And I happened to notice that he has his own domain now. I went to the site and checked it out. The first thing that striked me is the template theme and I smiled to myself. Then I quickly scrolled through the content and found a few articles about music, reviews, tributes and ramblings... There is a lot that seems interesting.. and lots I have opinions about.. and like to comment on. So, for now I just linked to his site here and posted this article.

Now the interesting part - though I haven't been blogging as much, and haven't been in regular contact with my friends, our blogs seem to have many similarities.. Guess why we became friends in the first place.. :) I'll have to look up on more of my friends' blogs.. :) Its like getting re-introduced to them again.. through the blogosphere.. !

O My Friend...

Over the weekend, we had a surprise farewell party for one of our close friends who is moving back to India for good.. ! And some of us sang the song from Happy Days (O My Friend) .. brought tears into all our eyes... became very sentimental and emotional.. Even some of the guys had watery eyes.. though they didn't really cry.. like us mortal gals :) Its kind of a mixed feelings..occasion.. we were happy.. they were able to make the hard decision that many of us wish to make.. but are afraid of doing it ! on the other hand we would miss them here..

Looks like there is no way to NOT MISS anyone.. in life these days.. ! First move to a new place in search of opportunities..and better life.. while we are here, miss our family in India.. then as time goes on, somehow we don't see it as being better anymore..we start to question as to why we are where we are..and think about going back.. and when we do go back to where we came from, we miss the life here. Some people are bold enough to realize and make a decision to transition early, some take more time.. ! And then there are another group of people who never moved anywhere else, and they itch for change.. ! whatever people do, nothing is ever satisfactory..to anyone.. Why do we impose such things upon ourselves.. ?

चलते चलते मेरे ये गीत याद रखना कभी अलविदा न कहना ... कभी अलविदा न कहना॥

Keeping in touch...

How hard is it to keep in touch with friends ? Sometimes it may really be the case that there is no way of communicating with them.

Down the road somehow, you hope to get in touch with such long lost friends from school and college. But most times, its just either a phone call or an email away. Life is so busy in this materialistic, mechanical world, that keeping in touch and sharing conversations, doesnt seem to be a huge priority anymore. 24 hours of a day just dont seem to be enough to get all the things done.

True, its hard enough having to juggle with kids,work, home, bills etc...who has time for phone calls and pointless chats ? But is it really a matter of time ? If really "not enough time" is the reason, how are we able to stay up-to-date with whos who in hollywood ? And the best new gadget out there is.. ?

Well, sadly they seem to take up a higher spot on the list than talking to friends.. I guess. Anyway.. friendships are mutual, the relationship will be alive only if both people engage in keeping it so.. and I guess after a while, we become so busy and occupied with the regular things going on in life.. that we dont remember how happy we were before all these responsibilities became a part of us..and forget what it is to have good friends.. and dont care about that anymore.. .or that there are other things in life that give us such pleasure.. that we dont remember about past relationships anymore.. Or am I just thinking too much over this friends thing ?!

Distance and relationships

No, I am not talking about romantic/marriage type relationships. But about friends.. the really good ones.. from childhood/school/college ..you grew up together with. I was talking to a friend the other day .. and reading a blog of another.. and its like I hardly know them now. We were best buddies back then. But life has become so different for each of us.. being where we are .. and how far we are.. our interests and priorities have changed , we also have other "significant" people in our lives now that seem to matter more... it almost seems like there arent very many things we share in common anymore. The things that brought us together and made us friends in the first place..seem to be lost somewhere.. Though its kind of hard to accept, distance does change the relationships in ways that are rarely desirable.The very first time I realized this with a very dear friend of mine, I was very disappointed like I had lost something that I could never get back and I did not want to accept it. .. gradually i guess it has sinked in now....

But inspite of all that, I still do feel a strong sense of connection/attachment (not with everyone but very few) and I do remember that feeling of not having to hesitate and the unconditional acceptance.. I got from my dear friends.. from many years ago.. I know they have a different lifestyle, different things they are interested in, we rarely talk.. since all of us are too "busy"for that..I still feel deep in my heart that I know them. I think they feel that with me too.. or atleast I hope they do...

I never really thought much before when someone said they were friends from "X" number of years.. as to what the big deal about it is. Now I know... what the big deal is.. the relationship has survived the test of time.. and they can still connect and relate and laugh about things..share joy and sadness..be there for each other in happy and tough times.. after all these years.. its a true friendship and a real connection.. that doesnt fade with time and survives all obstacles created by life.. and its definitely something precious to have...and celebrate..and feel good about... !